Anything Goes

February 28, 2005

I had the pleasure of seeing Point Park University's production of "Anything Goes" yesterday. It was the last show and my friend and I slide in 2 minutes after the show started. Luckily for us, I have a hook-up who not only secured us fantastic seats in the balcony but waived the ticket fee! Ahh yeah! I have to say that of the plays I've seen at the Pittsburgh Playhouse over the last year, "Anything Goes" was absolutely the best!

Anything Goes originally opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 21, 1934 and turned out to be the fourth longest running musical of the 30s.

Anything Goes is a musical featuring music by Cole Porter. It was vibrant and full of energy - dancing, singing, and an amazing interaction between the sweeping star of the show Candi Boyd and the others around her. There was a tap number that I swear was breathtaking in its execution and the vocalists were absolutely stunning!

It’s always funny to me when people who don’t like musicals complain about their artificiality. “Strangers don’t suddenly break into song together in the middle of the street and run through intricate dance routines.”

Brushing aside the fact that maybe the world would be a much better place if strangers did, such complaints are usually lodged by people who lap up Hollywood action films in which an overpaid movie star can run through a firestorm of bullets and bombs and emerge without a scratch. So don’t talk to me about artificial -- at least in musicals the dancers are doing their own stunts.

I agree - people should burst into random songs more frequently! And, personally, I'd like to see more choreographed dance movements as I walk down the street...